A WOMAN in her 20s has died after plunging from the MSC Virtuosa cruise ship into the English Channel in a horror 2am fall.
The cruise ship passenger was winched out of the Channel today after falling off the vessel in the middle of the night.
She was raced to hospital but was pronounced dead despite the best efforts of medics.
British and French cops are now probing the woman’s death.
French coastguards confirmed on Saturday that the unidentified person disappeared off the MSC Virtuosa at around 2am.
The cruise ship was steaming from Lisbon to Southampton when disaster struck.
The ship originally sounded a Man Overboard alert, while sounding loud blasts in the pitch darkness.
Spotlights were then used to light up the sea, as aircraft from France and the Channel Islands attended the scene.
A French Navy helicopter led the search and rescue operation, and was supported by aircraft from the Channel Islands.
Infra-red cameras were used to locate the person, who would have struggled to survive in the cold water.
Tannoy announcements on board the ship described a “search for a missing person” and asked for “thoughts and prayers”.
An emergency alert was received at around 3am French time, saying that a person was missing, a coastguards source told The Sun.
A helicopter was scrambled to a search area just north Les Casquets rocks, near the Channel Island of Alderney.
A plane from Channel Islands Air Search was sent to the scene from Guernsey, along with lifeboat crews from Alderney and France.
The £650m Virtuosa, which has a crew of more than 1500 and which can carry up to 6300 passengers, remained in the area, before making her way to Southampton.
The Viruousa is now in Southampton, where crew and passengers have been interviewed by detectives.
A spokesperson said: “A guest on board MSC Virtuosa went overboard on 12 October, while the ship was sailing to Southampton.
“The body was later recovered with the involvement of the authorities.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.
“Out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing further details.”
Hampshire Police said: “Officers have been deployed to assist with enquiries relating to this incident.
“It has been reported that the woman went overboard the MSC Virtuosa during the early hours of this morning and subsequently died.”
A spokesperson added: “The investigation is not being managed by UK authorities.”
